USMLE Step 2 CK Lecture Notes 2020: Obstetrics/Gynecology (2019)

USMLE Step 2 CK Lecture Notes 2020: Obstetrics/Gynecology (2019) is an outstanding summary book for medical student-level obstetrics and gynecology. It’s slightly under 300 pages long and sparsely illustrated, but it contains excellent clinical vignettes, flow charts and tables that will help medical students prepare for standardized examinations that cover obstetrics and gynecology.

Take, for example, the books approach to elevated maternal alpha-fetoprotein. The algorithm goes like this: if the maternal alpha-fetoprotein is high, get a sonogram for dating and for evaluation for fetal anomalies. If the sonogram suggests a new date, then maternal alpha-fetoprotein needs to be interpreted in the context of the new date. If the date is correct, then one must search for fetal anomalies that might explain the elevated maternal alpha-fetoprotein. And so on.

This algorithm isn’t merely just good enough for government work. It is a clear and logical framework on how to approach the problem of elevated maternal alpha-fetoprotein in clinical practice: the maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein must always be interpreted in the context of sonographic findings, with particular attention to dating and fetal anamolies.

(Of note, Dr. Elmar P. Sakala is credited as an “editor” of this book, and no author is identified. As it turns out, Dr. Sakala also authored the amazing High-Yield Obstetrics and Gynecology, which very unfortunately hasn’t been updated since 2005. The medical community badly needs an update of that book, which is more detailed. Until then, USMLE Step 2 CK Lecture Notes 2020: Obstetrics/Gynecology (2019) will have to suffice).

Overall, the book has very few downsides. It’s not what it isn’t. It was never meant to be a stand-alone, full-fledged textbook or review book, and that’s okay. It’s awkwardly titled and a little bit hard to get to because it cannot be bought as a stand-alone hard copy edition. You can either buy it on Kindle, or you can buy the paper edition as part of a collection of Kaplan’s USMLE preparation books—most of which I’m not terribly excited about—at a cost of more than $180. Going forward, this book should probably also be made available in hard copy as a stand alone product. In addition, even as a review book, it should probably have a few more images. For example, for Trichomoniasis (page 170-171), a picture of a trichomonad should be shown. Similarly, for vaginal candidiasis (page 171) a picture of pseudohyphae would be helpful.

So USMLE Step 2 CK Lecture Notes 2020: Obstetrics/Gynecology (2019) is really for someone who pretty much knows what’s going on in the world of medical student-level obstetrics and gynecology and just needs a quick refresher before exam day. I recommend it very highly to medical students and residents in primary care fields other than obstetrics and gynecology.